An FYI on Apple’s Ping: R.I.P.

On Sunday, Apple officially shut down iTunes Ping, or Ping for short, or P for even shorter. The software-based, music-centric social-networking service came into the world on Sept. 1, 2010, with a million members in 23 countries.

But the service’s shortcomings – most nobable its lack of compatibility with Facebook – doomed it to an embarrassing and slow slide into the dust bin of Internet history.

Along the way, Ping was named by CNN as one of the ten biggest tech failures of 2010. Number 10, to be precise. And it had some infamous company, including the Apple iPhone 4 Antennagate and Google Buzz.

But let’s not kick a guy when he’s down.

Appearing at All Things Digital’s D10 conference this past spring, CEO Tim Cook delivered what may as well serve as the requiem: “We tried Ping,’’ Cook said, “and I think the customer voted and said ‘This isn’t something that I want to put a lot of energy into.’”